[Communiqué de presse] French International School student’s winning text read from space by astronaut, Thomas Pesquet!

The French International School (FIS) is excited to announce that 13 year old Paul-Louis Drouffe has been named a winner in the creative writing competition launched from the International Space Station by Thomas Pesquet, the French astronaut.

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French International School student’s winning text read from space by astronaut, Thomas Pesquet!

[Hong Kong – 24 April 2017]

The French International School (FIS) is excited to announce that 13 year old Paul-Louis Drouffe has been named a winner in the creative writing competition launched from the International Space Station by Thomas Pesquet, the French astronaut, on 3 January 2017. Not only was Paul-Louis one of only 10 winners selected from 8,400 entries, his story was also one of Thomas Pesquet’s two favourites and the astronaut himself read it from Space for all to enjoy! Watch the video for yourself with English subtitles here.

The idea behind the competition Make Your Stories Travel In Space (Faites voyager vos histoires dans l'espace) was to continue the work of the famous French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery and write in French about the visit of “The Little Prince” (Le Petit Prince) to an 8th planet. A French national in Year 8 of the International Stream at FIS, Paul-Louis was enrolled in the competition by Mrs Gauthier, his French teacher, along with the other Year 8 students in her French (Advanced Level) class. “I am very proud of Paul-Louis whose entry illustrates his excellent language skills and rich imagination,” she enthused.

All 8,400 submissions from 78 different countries were evaluated by a jury of well-known people in aviation, science, culture and literature. 50 texts were shortlisted and split in two categories: France and International (25 each). Finally, 5 texts were selected in each category and the results were announced on 6 April 2017. All the winning texts can be read on the competition website here.

“I can’t quite believe that this is happening!” said Paul-Louis. His imagination and hard work have certainly been rewarded, but he doesn't have to come back down to earth yet as he has been invited to go to Europe in the Autumn to participate in various activities related to Space and Writing.

Congratulations to Paul-Louis for this amazing achievement!

Other information:

About French International School (FIS)

FIS was established in 1963 as one of the first international schools in Hong Kong. The school offers two streams: the French and International Streams, preparing students towards certification in the French national examination, the French Baccalaureate or the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. In 1988, FIS became the first in Hong Kong to be authorised as an IB World School.

The school will open a new state of the art eco-campus in Tseung Kwan O in September 2018. Currently, the school is one of the largest international through schools in Hong Kong and welcomes over 2,700 students from Kindergarten/Moyenne Section to Year 13/Terminale, representing 40 different nationalities, across four campuses in Happy Valley, Jardine’s Lookout, Chai Wan and Hung Hom.

The school’s mission is to provide, together with families, a nurturing, culturally diverse community that inspires our young people to realize their true potential as confident, independent learners and responsible global citizens with moral values and integrity.